News of the Day

Farming and nonpartisan redistricting initiatives took center stage at Democrat Governor Tony Ever’s second annual State of the State address on Wednesday night, a speech that also touched on climate change, criminal justice reform, education, and the launch of a task force tackling student debt.

After about 800 dairy farms closed their doors in Wisconsin in 2019, and one-third of the state’s farms closed between 2011 and 2018, Evers announced a three-pronged approach to address the state’s most notable industry and help struggling small and mid-sized family farms.

Calling a special session of the legislature next week to take up farming legislation, Evers noted, “We’ve heard people who’ve said there’s no place for small farms anymore—they ought to go big or bust.”

“Well, they’re wrong. They don’t know Wisconsin,” Evers said, to cheers from lawmakers.

The plan includes legislation to create the Wisconsin Initiative for Dairy Exports to increase the total exports of dairy products to the United States to 20% of the milk supply by 2024. Evers also announced expansion of the Farm Center, added staffing to UW-Extension, and creating the Blue Ribbon Commission on Rural Prosperity that would include industry experts from around the state to plan long-term solutions for the state’s Dairyland.

The Wisconsin state Senate has passed a bill dealing with – but not closing – the dark store loophole. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) says the measure – making the tax assessment appeal process easier – was one of three bills to come out of a study committee.

“This is a complicated, tedious issue,” Fitzgerald said.

The loophole allows big-box retailers to have their property assessments based on those of vacant competitors. Democrats like Dave Hansen of Green Bay are impatient.

“How many sessions is it going to take to get this passed, before we start looking out for the residential taxpayers of this state?”

Senator Janis Ringhand, (D-Evansville) who served on that study committee, said none of the bills that came out of it, including the one passed on Tuesday, actually close the loophole.

Both the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly plan to meet in floor sessions on Tuesday — one of only a handful of days the state Legislature is expected to be in session in 2020.

Several bills before the Senate and Assembly could lead to work for contractors. Among them are proposals to encourage the construction of affordable housing in Wisconsin, rid child-care centers of lead and let architects keep their professional credentials after retirement.

One proposal before the state Assembly would set aside $10 million to encourage the construction of affordable housing in rural areas.

So-called workforce housing is one source of construction demand that’s still struggling to recover from the recession more than a decade ago. The lack of these sorts of developments has caused frustration for employers in rural places and been blamed for the fact that rent prices have risen at a faster pace than wages in recent years.

The legislation, Assembly Bill 544, would direct the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority to establish a $10 million fund to support affordable housing projects in rural Wisconsin.

The state Senate will separately take up legislation passed out of committee earlier this month to require child-care centers to rid themselves of water sources tainted with lead.

It’s part of a pair of bills called the SCHOOL Acts — an acronym standing for  Supporting Children’s Health Ousting Outdated Lead. The proposals would require school districts and private child-care centers to identify and remove lead pipes and similar infrastructure. The bills come after lawmakers have been grappling for months with how to deal with widespread lead contamination.

In a 2-1 vote, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin OK’d the Nemadji Trail Energy Center’s certificate of public convenience and necessity.

The approval moves Duluth-based Minnesota Power’s plan to build the plant with La Crosse-based Dairyland Power Cooperative forward on a plot of land between Enbridge Energy’s Superior terminal and the Nemadji River. The power plant will be capable of producing between 525 and 625 megawatts of power.

“This is very significant for the (Nemadji Trail Energy Center) project in Superior,” Julie Pierce, Minnesota Power’s vice president of strategy and planning, told the News Tribune. “We received the approval from the Public Services Commission that this is the right site and it’s in the public interest for having it in Superior, Wisconsin.”

The companies argue the plant, which burns natural gas, would supplement more solar and wind power “when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing,” and that the plant is “renewable enabling.”

The project still needs to obtain permits from the city of Superior, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Army Corps of engineers.

Across the state border, the project faces further scrutiny from Minnesota regulators. Last month, the Minnesota Court of Appeals said the state’s Public Utilities Commission erred when it declined to consider potential impacts the Nemadji Trail Energy Center could have on air, water, land and other natural resources. The court reversed the agency’s October 2018 approval of the project and sent it back to the commission for further review.

Although the project is located in Wisconsin, it also had to move through Minnesota regulators because the power it would generate will be delivered to Minnesota Power’s customers in Minnesota.

The leader of the state Department of Safety and Professional Services has announced changes to how the department handles regulation of commercial building construction following criticism from lawmakers and industry groups over delays.

One of DSPS’s responsibilities is to review commercial construction plans to ensure they comply with Wisconsin laws and regulations. Contractors pay a fee to the department for such plans to be reviewed.

Contractors have complained they have experienced delays of up to 10 to 12 weeks for their construction plans to be reviewed. They had been accustomed to six to eight weeks.

Crim announced changes to speed up the plan review process, including encouraging contractors to submit their construction plans early and with payment to have the opportunity to have their plan be reviewed earlier than scheduled.

The Senate will vote on the new North American trade pact on Thursday. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is expected to pass with overwhelming bipartisan support. Senators began formal consideration of the pact on Wednesday afternoon.

Once the Senate passes USMCA, the deal will be sent to President Trump’s desk for his signature. President  Trump said Wednesday he will sign the deal next week.

But the deal will not fully enter into force until Canada ratifies the USMCA. Mexico has already passed the revised deal, and Canada is expected to hold a vote in the House of Commons once it reconvenes in late January.

“All eyes will be on Canada to get the job done quickly so we can all work together to implement this agreement,” Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley said on the Senate floor.

The U.S.-China trade war is set to enter a new, quieter phase on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He sign an initial trade deal that aims to vastly increase Chinese purchases of U.S. manufactured products, agricultural goods, energy and services.

The centerpiece of the deal is a pledge by China to purchase an additional $200 billion worth of U.S. goods over two years to cut a bilateral U.S. trade deficit that peaked at $420 billion in 2018.

The Phase 1 deal, reached in December, canceled planned U.S. tariffs on Chinese-made cell phones, toys and laptop computers and halved the tariff rate to 7.5% on about $120 billion worth of other Chinese goods, including flat panel televisions, Bluetooth headphones and footwear. But it will leave in place 25% tariffs on a vast, $250 billion array of Chinese industrial goods and components used by U.S. manufacturers.

The deal includes pledges by China to forbid the forced transfer of American technology to Chinese firms as well as to increase protections for U.S. intellectual property.

But it stops well short of addressing the core U.S. complaints about China’s trade and intellectual property practices that prompted the Trump administration to pressure Beijing for changes in early 2017.

Mnuchin and Lighthizer said these issues are key U.S. priorities for Phase 2 negotiations with China.

Today, Commissioner Mike Huebsch announced his retirement from the Public  Service Commission (PSC) of Wisconsin effective February 3, 2020.

The retirement caps off 25 years of distinguished service to the state. He was appointed to a six-year term at the Public Service commission by Governor Scott Walker on March 1, 2015.

“I want to humbly thank the people of the state of Wisconsin for allowing me to serve. I have been truly blessed for the opportunities and trust afforded to me by the people of this great state. I thank you,” said Huebsch.

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin is composed of three full-time Commissioners who decide the cases brought to the PSC for changes in utility operations, rates and for construction projects after a complete and thorough review of all the records compiled in the case, including public comments.

Commissioners are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate for staggered, six-year terms.

Gov. Tony Evers laid out his legislative priorities for the new year during a stop in Eau Claire Thursday.

The governor said he wants to continue to move forward on bipartisan issues. In a letter sent to both Democrats and Republicans, Evers pushed for the passage of, what he calls, key pieces of legislation before the session wraps up in the spring.

Among them are bills to address clean water, sex trafficking, homelessness, lowering property taxes and reimbursing local governments for unexpected special elections.

Evers said he’s been frustrated that many key items keep getting swept under the rug in the legislature.

“My frustration is that we all, you know, whether it’s in a small way or a big way, represent the people of Wisconsin,” Evers said. “Let’s have a vote. If people vote it down, that’s good. Whatever! It doesn’t matter. We have a democracy, and I think it’s important for the people of Wisconsin to be heard, and let’s have a vote on these things.”

Evers added he picked these pieces of legislature because they have bipartisan support and are important to the majority of Wisconsinites.